Archive · 27 Aug 2026
JRD Tata’s Quote Links Leadership With Service And Purpose
JRD Tata was an important Indian businessman and aviation pioneer.
He helped create India’s first airline.
He also led the Tata Group for many years.
His quote compares eating food with serving other people.
The quote says that some people mainly focus on their own needs.
It suggests that truly exceptional people also care about helping society.
JRD Tata believed businesses should have a wider responsibility to humanity.
The source does not give a specific date for when he said the quote.
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was a French-born Indian industrialist, philanthropist and aviation pioneer.
He became one of the first Indians to receive a commercial pilot’s license in 1929.
In 1932, he founded Tata Air Mail, which connected Karachi, Ahmedabad, Bombay and Madras.
The service became Tata Airlines and was renamed Air India in 1946.
The quote contrasts ordinary personal needs with the higher purpose of service, philanthropy and civic responsibility.
- Who
- Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, also known as JRD Tata.
- What
- A quote attributed to JRD Tata says that ordinary people have an appetite for food, while extraordinary people have an appetite for service.
- When
- The source does not specify when the quote was said; it says his unrecorded philosophy statements were later compiled in J.R.D. Tata Keynote.
- Where
- The discussion concerns JRD Tata’s leadership and work in India.
- Why
- The quote expresses the idea that exceptional people should pursue service, civic duty, philanthropy and human welfare beyond personal needs.
- Full name
- Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata
- Lifespan
- July 29, 1904-November 29, 1993
- Commercial pilot’s license
- Obtained in 1929; he was among the first Indians to receive one
- First aviation venture
- Tata Air Mail, established in 1932
- Airline development
- Tata Air Mail became Tata Airlines and was renamed Air India in 1946
- Tata Group chairmanship
- JRD Tata became chairman in 1938 at age 34
- Quote source
- The statement is discussed in connection with J.R.D. Tata Keynote, a compilation of his philosophy statements